by Nanqin Ying. This study analyzes over 50 million judicial decisions from China’s Supreme People’s Court to examine disparities in legal representation and their impact on sentencing across provinces. Focusing on 290 000 drug-related cases, it employs large language models to differentiate between private attorneys and public defenders and assess their sentencing outcomes. The methodology combines advanced text processing with statistical analysis, using clustering to categorize cases by province and representation, and regression models to isolate the effect of legal representation from factors like drug quantity and regional policies. Findings reveal significant regional disparities in legal access driven by economic conditions, highlighting the need for reforms in China’s legal aid system to ensure equitable representation for marginalized groups and promote transparent judicial data for systemic improvements.
